Windswept Aria
by serudanth
Summary: Meet Virgil. A bit cynical and a sarcastic skeptic. He moves into Mineral Town one year after Jack. Although he is generally well liked, Virgil hides a secret. What is he hiding? Why did he move into Mineral Town?
1. Destination

1 Destination

"_Often all it takes to start over is a different point of view…"_

The sun was high and bright as the cab I was on took a pretty scenic route to my destination. Fields of lush grass soothed my rather uneasy mood about going to some rustic town in the middle of nowhere. They tell me it's a quaint hamlet known for its farms but the name 'Mineral Town' makes me think of some desolate mining village. My eyes as well as my thoughts drift through the clear blue sky.

"Here ya go, mate. Mineral Town." The cab driver was anxious to get me off. I paid my fare and he helps me unload my luggage for a little extra cash. Not too long after, a _very tiny_ man approaches me with a ridiculous smile and greets me. To my surprise, he was the mayor of the town. In the back of my mind, I wonder if I had wandered into a Halfling village by accident.

"So would you like a tour?" His question broke of my trail of thoughts. I nod and as soon as we left my belongings at the inn, he proceeded to tour me around the village. Along the way he tells me of another young man who moved in about a year ago to inherit his grandfather's farm. I pretend to be interested with a series of "Oh" and "I see…"s. He should understand that I could only be so interested in another guy in the village. It made me wonder if the mayor thought I was gay. My prayers go to the Goddess hoping he doesn't. The last thing I need in my new home was the impression that I did freaky things with other men in bed. _Could the mayor be gay?_ Another prayer goes up to the Goddess' request desk.

* * *

The town wasn't bad. In all fairness, it actually had most of the basic things any normal human being needed to lead a fairly decent life. It was no high-strung city, that's for sure. Why, the TVs in the village had access to only 4 channels! But it looked to me that the whole world could face a catastrophic disaster and life on this little town would go on just like the day before it. This was somewhat reassuring, in its own way. I could probably spend a few hours in the library and then just hang out at the inn by nightfall. From what the mayor told me, there are only 5 girls in the town close to my age. I haven't met any of them yet but hopefully, they'd be interesting. Who knows? I just might my future wife here. Not likely, but I'm open to the possibility. Just how interesting could a girl be from a town like this be? 

"I hope you enjoyed the tour, Virgil." Mayor Thomas looked like even he got tired of his own tour. I respond with a happy nod, "I appreciate it a whole lot, mayor. Thanks. I pray to the Goddess that I'd fit in."

The mayor was ready to leave but he turns around once more with a rather embarrassed look on his face, "What did you say your line of work was again?" A nervous laugh escapes my lips. 'Novelist', I tell him. He waves goodbye and leaves. I plop myself onto the sofa. Coughing ensues immediately. Apparently, no one had lived in this house for Goddess knows how long. After the dust settled, I promptly pick up the broom and start to sweep around the den. I wonder just how I'd get used to life around these parts. I don't exactly have a regular day job like most of the townsfolk. That farmer kiddo my age probably has his hands full everyday so he's lucky. He doesn't have to be worried about not having something to do.

* * *

Some hours pass and I look at the interior of my new home. _Decent_. It was no manor but it was enough. The sun had already retired some time ago. A moment's contemplation pushes me to go around the town a bit for a little R&R before I hit the sack. 

The town is pretty desolate at night. It doesn't help that my house is rather isolated from the rest of the village. I wonder if my house is really a part of the village. I look around a house a bit and find a dirty bike in the storage shed. The color's a faded red and the dust on it reminds me of the sofa. I wipe the dust off and to my surprise, it still works pretty well. A little air on the tires and I don't really need to worry about getting around town anymore. The shed is a mess but I manage to find an air pump somewhere amidst the clutter of items after some diligent searching.

Mineral Town's evening breeze is a nice change from the typical city air I got accustomed to. It's relaxing. The light at the inn is still open. I suddenly remember the fact that the inn also acts as a bar when evening comes. I park my bike near the entrance trusting that Mineral Town can't possibly have thieves with its population. A red-headed man greets me upon entry. His eyes seem to light up seeing that I'm an unfamiliar face.

"Hi there! The name's Doug. I'm the innkeeper. Might I interest you in a room?" His sales pitch sounds like it's been practiced to perfection. Tough luck for him, I have a house. "Oh I already have a place to stay. Thanks for the offer though. I just moved in earlier today."

"So you're the new guy that I heard about from Manna." Doug peers at me as if checking me out. I swear, why do I get the feeling this village is filled with gay men? However, my suspicions are proven wrong. "You're around the same as my daughter, I reckon. You might want to meet her some time. She tucked in early today but if you want, come by tomorrow morning. That aside, what can I do you for?"

"Pardon?" Although I know he doesn't mean anything by it, his phrasing is a bit wrong to me. That or I'm just getting paranoid of these people. Either way I respond with an order for a bourbon. Doug stares at me blankly for a moment. I look around and see that everyone else has tankards of wine. I guess that's the only alcohol they have to serve here. A bit flushed out, I change my order. "Wine."

_It's going to be a long, long night._

"By the way, we're only open until 9pm." Doug adds after serving my drink. I look at my watch. 8:40pm.

_Guess not. _

* * *

**A/N:**Whew! After a pretty long time, I've gotten around to typing something out for I hope you guys manage to appreciate this. It's based on BTN. Please review if you have the time so I can get some feedback on what to fix up. 


	2. Of Stones, Ponds and Grass

2 Of Stones, Ponds and Grass

Warm morning rays peer through the window panes, waking me gently against my will. I look at the wall clock and rubbed my eyes to see clearly. It reads ten minutes until ten o'clock in the morning so I bury my head under a pillow. I eventually sit up since going back to sleep is impossible now that I'm awake. A distressful sigh comes and I know that I have to go around town on my own. Minutes later, I find myself dressed in my new khakis, shoes and indigo long-sleeved polo shirt. The air outside never ceases to amaze me as to how it soothes me regardless of my mood; it's nothing short of a miracle. That rocky path to the main town seems less intimidating now that it's morning and the scenery in general is nice.

"Good morning, stranger!" A man in uniform greets from afar. Cold sweat trickles down as I nervously wave back. It's Harris, the local officer. I heave a sigh of relief. He was introduced to me yesterday by Mayor Thomas. Although he already resumed his patrol, my heart is still racing.

_Stupid. Why am I so nervous anyway? Nothing can go wrong here. This town looks so quiet and peaceful that it's almost unreal. It's like a video game, for the love of Goddess! But even in a video game, something's bound to go wrong._

* * *

My thoughts are stopped by the door I walk into. A rather plain-looking girl in braids opens the door I knocked my head on. I give a half-smile while rubbing my forehead from the impact. "Hello miss. I'm sorry about that. I hope I didn't bother you." 

She meekly returns a smile. This girl seems to be struggling with the right words to say. After a short uneasy pause, she finally musters something to say. "It's okay. Oh, welcome to the library. Please help yourself to the books here." I nod to the idea and shake her hand firmly, "The name's Virgil, by the way. And you are?"

"Mary. Nice to meet you."

_So this is the library._ I look around the rather somber-looking place. It's calming somehow. Reading wouldn't be that bad an idea since it was quiet. I wonder if other people _really_ come to this place to read. Once again, my suspicions are proven wrong when the door swings open and a young man with a cap walks in. Mary's face lights up all of a sudden. I take it that this guy is probably important to her somehow. After all, when I was talking to Mary, she could barely cough out anything to say. This guy seems to be someone she's very comfortable with. He looks down at his feet for a moment and finally gives her a clump of herbs. _Come on, he tries to woo a girl with wee—_

"Oh thank you!" Mary was ecstatic about the herb. The smile on her face was something that even I found cute. I suppose that it's quite true that even that plain-looking Mary can look lovely if you get her to smile. Mary takes the grass and puts them away. "I love these! I really appreciate them."

_She's sorta cute but a weird girl, nonetheless._ I mean, come on! She likes grass? Maybe that grass is something illeg—

"Oh, Gray. I'd like you to meet Virgil." Mary looks my way with the same aura as she did earlier. I nod to Gray in acknowledgement. "It's nice to meet you. Gray, right?"

* * *

It's 11:30am. I left the library with book in hand and I now realize that I'm lost. The near noon sun silently heats everything in the town, including my temper. 

"Where, in the Goddess name, am I?!" I throw a stone into the pond in frustration. A few wrong turns and I can't find my way back. I kick the grass in futile rage and punch the wood fence of the hot spring._Maybe I should just drown myself in the spring._

"Maybe you should do that." A female voice snaps at me from behind. I turn around ready to give whoever answered me 'the finger'. My jaw drops at the sight of a woman dressed in green rise up from the pond. No strings. No mirrors. Nothing. _Maybe the grass from the library is getting to me._

"It's not nice to think like that about Mary; especially since she's even taken a liking to you." This woman is starting to get on my nerves. But I'm still speechless. _Did she just read my thoughts? Who the hell is she, anyway?_ "Come on, Virgil. You make requests and complaints to me all the time. Your last one was asking me where you were."

"G-g-g-odd—"  
"Goddess. That's right. The Harvest Goddess, to be exact."  
"Oh my go—"  
"Okay. Okay. Don't wear out the name, sweetie."

_Is this woman _really_ the Harvest Goddess?!_ She raises her brow at me and moves in closer. "Virgil, I've been getting tired of your recent complaints. I can barely take a break with your constant prayers. Oh yes, I really am the Goddess. And yes, I can read your thoughts."

"W-what do you want then?" I can't believe I'm having a conversation with _the_ Harvest Goddess. She's right about my constant half-hearted prayers but I guess that just means that she does hear them even though most of them are pretty sarcastic. "You've been annoying me in recent days and I don't take kindly to your bad attitude. You've been thinking that the men of this cute little town are gay and you think that Mary's into wee—"

"I'm sorry then. Is there anything I can do to make up for it? You know… an offering or something?" I cut her off since I'm getting impatient and the hot spring sure looks like a good idea about now. All this Goddess talk is taking a toll on my head. "I know what an offering is. But I have something else in mind, Virgil."

"Pardon me?"

Whatever it is she has in mind. I have the gut feeling that it's not going to be easy. Her green eyes show it all.

* * *

**A/N:**There we go. It's kinda awkward since I'm still trying to get used to writing from the first person perspective. I've gotten used to writing in third so I wanted to try something new. Hopefully, it isn't that bad but if you see anything wrong, please let me know! 


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